


Ideal and real

by hitori10



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Family, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Military instructor Levi, Original Character(s), Pastel Eren Yeager, Short Eren Yeager, Tall Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Transgender Eren Yeager
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:47:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25499320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hitori10/pseuds/hitori10
Summary: Children were something Eren and Levi were looking forward to, wishing to raise a child with all the love and care they could provide. And apparently their child was just determined to be a little tornado.
Relationships: Levi/Eren Yeager, Mikasa Ackerman/Annie Leonhart
Comments: 3
Kudos: 113
Collections: 18+ Ereri Discord Server Summer Exchange 2020





	Ideal and real

**Author's Note:**

  * For [elliemoran](https://archiveofourown.org/users/elliemoran/gifts).



> This is a gift for elliemoran from the ereri discord! They requested a fic involving the bois with some family fluff! And what better than to choose this to be a part of the sweetheart series! I hope that you enjoy!

Ideal and real

* * *

The whole process about adopting a child is entirely stressful Levi would come to decide sometime later.

If he previously thought his own career was one whole ball of stress, it surely pales in comparison now.

It was the constant check up's on their backgrounds, ensuring they had a stable income, a suitable home for a child to live in, and those spontaneous visits may or may not have given him a couple of grey hairs.

Asking to get into contact with their loved ones to see how they interacted with children.

Calling up some coworkers to be better well informed on their normal behavior and see if they were even suitable to take care of a young life.

Some months ago, he and Eren had sat down and began the discussion of children once again.

Although the brunet had once expressed interest in physically having the child himself, it was unfortunately no longer there.

For some time now, Eren didn't feel comfortable with that idea anymore.

He was a boy through and through, and something like carrying a child within his body just didn't make him feel okay anymore.

Eren felt like he let his husband down, once promising something so wonderful, and now falling back on his word about it.

Levi quickly assured his sweetheart that his comfort was the most important thing for him.

And hey, if Eren didn't wanna physically have the baby, that was okay.

That option wasn't their only one, there were more for them.

Both males did contemplate surrogacy for a while, but then that choice was eliminated once their looked at the pros and cons, and finding a suitable mother who was healthy and had no risks of any major sicknesses down the road made them just a little uneasy.

Annie, Mikasa's girlfriend, was actually the one who helped them settle on an orphanage to look into.

It was a nice little place on the outskirts of the city; near some schools in the suburbs area.

The real challenge was connecting with a child who not only felt comfortable with Eren, but Levi as well.

Being former military meant that he did have some scars on his body, the more prominent ones on his face, and those tended to make adults feel uneasy and children rather scared of him.

But against all odds, they managed to find a child.

She was a spunky little thing.

Mia wasn't afraid of the scars on Levi's face, rather, she was fascinated by them.

The workers thought it was moving awful fast for Mia when she hopped into Levi's lap, and began tracing the scars with her fingertips, giggling at the rough feeling.

For a four year old, she was odd.

Initially, their plan had been to adopt a baby, wanting to raise that child on their own from the very beginning of their life.

But Mia came in like the little tornado that she is and blew those plans out of the water.

If Levi is to be honest, he's always wanted a spunky little daughter, someone who would keep him on his toes, and light up his day with her laughter.

And so, they chose to adopt Mia and take her home.

* * *

The condo they lived in was still suitable for a family of three, with some minor adjustments made to make sure she didn't hurt herself.

It was a little bit of a challenge to decide what they should do decoration wise for Mia's room.

But, Levi figured, something similar to what he had growing up would do the trick.

"Daddy, can we see my new room?" Looking up at him with those pretty green eyes is gonna be the death of him.

Eren snickered behind them, failing to suppress his laughter.

Levi reached down and picked up his daughter, letting her rest on his hip. "Of course, honey, let's go."

Mia cheered, still holding onto the stuffed bear auntie Isabel had sent.

Their daughter's room was once an office that Levi used to get some work done, and while he was a little disappointed to lose the comfort of this work space, he was content with knowing his angel would be living in here.

Pushing the door open they were immediately greeted with lavender walls, a large white bed, fox plushies, Mia's favorite animal, and glow in the dark stars on the ceiling.

They had decided the simple approach to her new bedroom would be best; not wanting to overwhelm her with a room filled with too many things.

Besides, they had many years ahead of them where this room would be filled with memories.

Setting Mia down on the plush carpet, she walked over to the nightstand, where a lamp with star indentations were carved in, and smiled.

Reaching into the little purse she had hanging across her shoulder, she pulled out a photo and set it down beside the lamp.

The first picture she took with her new papa and daddy.

One of the caretakers had shot it for them; to celebrate Mia finally getting adopted.

Eren felt tears gather in his eyes at the simple act, and Levi let out a soft chuckle.

They've done good in taking Mia into their family.

* * *

Falling into a new routine was a little bit of a challenge for them.

Levi now had to make sure that he made sufficient food for three people and not two, being told which vegetables were acceptable, fixing his angel's hair cause papa was bad at it, and reading his daughter a bedtime story before bed.

Because apparently _it's important daddy reads them cause he's makes all the right voices._

Just within a number of weeks, his little girl has him tightly wrapped around her finger.

But onto the current issue at hand.

"Is there really no one else who can come in?" Levi was currently on the phone with his friend, Erwin.

"Unfortunately not. Hanji is still recovering from the broken arm she gave herself demonstrating that new training regime and Molbit is in charge of taking her to the doctor."

Scratching the back of his head, the male tapped his foot against the carpet, "And Rico?"

Erwin sighed over the phone, "She's still not back in town yet. Rico still has a couple more lectures to give at colleges."

"Dammit." Levi dragged his hand down his face. "I'll be there then. I'll have to bring Mia with me though, Eren's out of town visiting some relatives for the week."

"That's fine. I'll make sure the cadets properly behave themselves around her."

"Thanks. I'll see you in a bit."

Sighing heavily as the blonde hung up, Levi got up from his place on the couch and went into his daughter's room.

"Mia."

She looked up at her daddy, putting pause on her game. "Yeah?"

"Daddy was called into work last minute so we have to head over there. Sorry kiddo, but could you save your game?"

Mia nodded, doing exactly as she was told.

If there's one thing Levi could truly appreciate, it was that unlike Eren, when someone spoke to Mia as she was playing a game, she actually stopped and paid attention.

Too bad his sweetheart can't do the same and is hyper focused on his game.

Still, he's glad Mia developed an interest in them, after seeing Eren binge some games, she had also asked if she could play some games.

Levi, of course, said yes, but only if they were age appropriate for her.

Taking a quick look at her outfit, a red shirt, black shorts and her hair in a ponytail.

Eh, it'll do since it's a little warm out.

"We'll be outside for some time for daddy's work. But if you feel too hot let me know and we'll get you cooled down, okay?"

"Okay."

* * *

His cadets have seen Levi in many forms before; the most frequent being pissed off.

But to see their commanding officer come up to them with a little girl sitting on his shoulders, a sun hat on her head and making her daddy hold her teddy bear was one they thought they would never see.

Erwin was there to greet them and upon seeing the familiar blonde, Mia held her arms out, "Uncle Erwin!"

Laughing, he reached up and carefully removed his friend's daughter from his shoulders, "Well hello there Mia."

"Daddy said his work is suuuuppper tough! I get to watch today, right?"

The blonde nodded, "You do. Just make sure you're on your best behavior okay?"

"Okay!"

* * *

Sipping on the cold apple juice her uncle gave her, Mia watched from underneath the shade how her daddy was yelling out orders for his team to follow.

She could now understand why people respected daddy so much.

He was a super hard worker!

And seeing him do all those obstacle courses reminded her of those she plays at when papa and daddy take her to the park.

Hmm, maybe if she does something like that, she won't be so bored...

Placing her juice on her now empty seat, she straightens out her sun hat and runs towards her daddy.

* * *

Erwin returned from inside with a small bag of cookies that he could give to Mia and nearly had a heart attack when he didn't see her there.

Despite only having her for a few weeks, the blonde was one hundred percent convinced that Levi would tear his head off if he didn't find Mia in the next five minutes.

His panic went down when he heard her laughter.

Somehow this little girl managed to convince her daddy to let he try the really simple portions of the obstacle course, with his careful supervision.

Her clothes were covered in dirt, her ponytail no longer neat, but a bright smile on her face nonetheless.

"Daddy look! I'm gonna cross before the rest of 'em!"

The cadets, bless their hearts, pretended to cry out, moving a tiny bit faster, but still letting her have a good lead.

When Mia crossed the finish line, Levi was quick to scoop her into his arms.

From his place underneath the shade, Erwin smiled.

Hard to believe the very guy who once said he would never get married and have kids, would be living his life exactly how he once said he never would.

Meeting Eren and Mia was the best thing that could have happened to his best friend.

Erwin chuckled to himself, "I really am becoming a sentimental bastard as I get older, huh?"

* * *

Eren was alone with Mia one day while Levi went out to accompany his mother for some errands.

What better way then to spend the day then by showing his lovely little girl just what he did for a living.

"And then we flatten out the dough on the counter top. Be sure to put flour down first though."

Mia turned to look at him, her pigtails swaying a little, "Why is that papa?"

"So it doesn't stick and we can make them a lot easier."

His angel was in charge of spreading flour on the counter top with her small hands, being very careful not to get some on the floor.

She knew very well by now that daddy was the one who was very picky about his cleaning.

"And once the dough is all flat, we use the cookie cutters to get some fun shapes out."

Opening a cabinet, Eren grabbed a bag filled with an assorted amount of cookie cutters.

"Now, you get to pick out three of them that we'll use, okay?"

Mia nodded, a glint in her green eyes.

Her tongue was sticking out the side of her mouth as she concentrated on finding the perfect shapes for the cookies.

Eren resisted the urge to laugh when he carefully cut into the dough with the cookie cutters.

Stars, cat paws, and butterfly cookies lined the pan.

At first glance, it may look like she picked out Mia alone liked.

But Eren of course, knew better.

Levi loved stars, had been infatuated with them since he was a kid and would often stare at them as a kid back when he and his mom were poor and the cracks in their ceiling granted him the chance to see.

The brunet loved butterflies, had been one of the first things that made him accept himself for who he was. How graceful and colorful they were. How they start and how they evolve into themselves later on in life.

Mia herself loved cats. She sometimes, very rarely, spoke about how her mama had once kept a kitty in their old home, and how that kitten would keep her company under her mother returned from work.

Eren placed the cookies in the oven and invited his daughter to come and play a video game with him.

Later on, seeing Levi enjoy some cookies with his nightly tea was worth the bright smile on their little girl's face.

* * *

When adopting a child, one expects everything so go perfectly.

But Levi and Eren know better.

On occasion, their little girl would come to them and cling on tightly.

They never once said anything because they knew Mia needed this small comfort.

Life was cruel and it certainly wasn't kind.

Ever since they uncovered that Mia's mother had...passed due to unfortunate circumstances, they had been sure to make sure she never felt loneliness like that again.

But it takes time for painful memories to become a thing of the past.

Eren had headed off to bed early since he needed to get to his cafe in the morning, saying something about putting a new treat up for sale.

Mia had been in bed for some hours now.

Levi himself was finishing up some paperwork on his laptop.

His headphones had been on so the only thing to snap him out of his focus was a small hand tugging on his sleeve.

Mia was standing there, teddy bear in arm and her pretty green eyes tinted a slight red.

Ah, another bad dream.

Taking off his headphones and turning in his office chair, Levi picked up his little girl and placed her on his lap.

Burying her face in her daddy's chest, Mia held onto his shirt with a grip.

Sometimes...sometimes she would get like this after a particularly bad dream.

The caretaker had informed them how Mia's mother passed away and how the little girl was left with a kitten in a tiny apartment waiting for a mom who would never come back.

She tended to be more attached to him, but Eren never once took any offense to it.

The brunet just tried harder to be a more reliable parental figure for her, looking for many different ways for them to bond.

Levi stroked her long black hair, gently soothing her as her breaths began evening out.

Mia had expressed a strong desire to keep her hair long, only allowing small trims.

Perhaps it reminded her of her mother in a way.

And who was he to deny her such a simple desire?

Closing his laptop, deciding he can finish up in the morning, he got up and went into his and Eren's shared bedroom.

Placing her in the middle of the bed, Levi crawled in beside her, making sure she was properly tucked in before falling asleep.

* * *

"Happy fifth birthday Mia!"

The little girl laughed loudly as her aunt Isabel swung her around, uncle Farlan keeping a close eye on the two hyper girls.

Many of their friends and family had come to celebrate their little girl's birthday.

Erwin, Marie, Isabel, Farlan, Mikasa, Annie, Armin, Carla, Grisha, Kuchel, Kenny and other friends of theirs.

Even some of Mia's friends from daycare had come to have fun.

Levi himself was seated down by the grill, watching as his little girl had the time of her life.

"You've done a good job with her, Lee."

Glancing up, he saw his mother, Kuchel, looking down at him with a loving smile, "I've just done the best I can."

She giggled slightly, "And sometimes, that means the world to someone like her."

The mother and son watched as Mia ran around, her red sundress swaying along with her running.

"I once doubted that I could make her happy."

Kuchel looked down at her son again, letting him continue.

"There were lots of tough times in which I felt like I would throw in the towel. But Mia and Eren would always make things better and let me keep going."

His mother sat down beside him, "I've always wanted to give Mia everything that I couldn't have. That she would never be left wanting."

And now, watching as she ran around, the brightest smile on her face, he truly felt like he kept his promise.

A promise he made to that little girl who looked like she desperately needed to be saved behind that spunky attitude.

"Goodness." Kuchel breathed out. "You've truly become a great father, you know? I'm very proud of you baby boy."

"Thanks mom."

That night, when everyone went home, Mia was comfortably laying down in her bed, papa and daddy reading her a story.

Papa had made the tastiest of cookies and the prettiest looking cake for her birthday.

Daddy made lots of yummy foods it felt like her tummy was about to burst from eating so much.

She even got a large fox plushie from her parents, the fabric felt so soft against her face.

They finished reading and Mia yawned quietly, tears gathering in the corner of her eyes.

Wiping them away, papa and daddy both kissed her forehead goodnight.

"Goodnight papa, daddy...love you..." Her voice drifted off as she fell asleep.

With her now fast asleep, she didn't get a chance to see the absolute happiness on her parents face as they heard Mia first tell them she loved them.

* * *

End

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading o/ 
> 
> tumblr-erenlevijeager  
> twitter-erenlevijeager


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